“Girls Who Code” Program is Good for All of Us in IT

Technology is the future. It is important to keep up with trends and advancements in technology in order to not be left behind. There was a time when it was men, not women, who dominated the workplace, but that has changed. There are more women going to college today then there are men. 57% of bachelor’s degrees are earned by women, but if technology is the future, then it is a problem that only 14% of those degrees are in computer science. There is a new initiative called “Girls Who Code” that aims to fix this problem.


The group will work with girls ages 13 to 17 from underprivileged neighborhoods to help them pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, also known as the STEM fields. The program will be taught by women who work in STEM fields and will help teach the girls tech skills such as computer programming, Web design and robotics. The program is being backed by technology giants Twitter, Google and Ebay.


This program is important to women in the workplace all across the country. While only 14% of female bachelor degrees are in computer science, women use the internet 17% more then men do. Something that, as a Communications Professional, I found especially of interest: while online, women are dominating the social media/networking arenas – they are responsible for creating two-thirds of the content on social networking websites. Clearly, women are tech savvy; we just need more motivation and incentives to pursue this as a possible career choice.


There was an article recently on dice.com that stated, “Thirty percent of 450 companies in the Harvey Nash poll said their IT departments have no women in management positions at all.” Women are fully capable of doing well in these tech jobs, they just need to be introduced to the industry and taught the technology, which is exactly what “Girls Who Code” is planning on doing. By increasing the opportunities for women to learn technological skills there will hopefully be more women with highly skilled jobs in technology.


Girls Who Code is a program that gets things done – and that elevates the skills, expertise, and number of female knowledge workers across industries. It’s good for all of us – especially us women! Learn how you can get involved at: http://www.girlswhocode.com/.